A Fresh Slate The start of the new year not only brings heaps of unfilled resolutions, but also signals the rebirth of Division III college hockey after a three week slumber. With most of the MASCAC idle last weekend and the ECAC Northeast and NESCAC engaging in mostly non-conference games, the true grind has yet … Read more
A Happy New Year to all! The second half of the season has begun and there are New Year’s resolutions abounding amongst the coaches and players as we start 2010. Some teams have already started with a holiday tournament while others are tasting their first competitive action in over two weeks this weekend. What are … Read more
With most teams playing around 24 games this season, for many they are at the one third mark of the season. Or, as coach Jim Ward from Connecticut College, describes it: “It’s the end of the first period.†The Camels break up their season into three periods of eight games each which seems apropos for … Read more
With the final two Division III conferences kicking off their campaigns, already there are some surprises. Some teams have already surpassed expectations, others who have fallen short. But there is the holiday break coming and then the grind of January and February that will determine where everyone lines up for the playoffs. So if your … Read more
We are still more than a month away from Christmas and all of the good New England hockey fans have been patiently waiting for their conference season to begin after enduring daily looks at the box scores from every other league in the Northeast, including the newly formed MASCAC conference. The wait is over: Friday … Read more
Making Strides The 2009-2010 Division III women’s hockey season is well underway and we have already had a couple of major surprises to start off the season. Adrian, a team picked to make some major noise in their first season as an official member of the NCHA, is off to a 0-4 start; dropping two … Read more
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Versatile forward Keith Nelson is looking to fire away at Hobart goalie Keith Longo in Saturday’s game to earn a Frozen Four berth (photo: Tim Costello).
There are only 11 teams left standing at this point and after Wednesday’s first round games, the list will be down to the eight quarterfinalists vying for the 2009 NCAA Division III national ice hockey championship. While both Babson and Amherst respective champions of their conferences, they took very different routes to the national tournament. … Read more
Wow! I mean wow! Talk about polar opposites: the NESCAC conference quarterfinals basically all held to form with the top seeds holding serve on home ice in the first round setting up a classic No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3 semifinal round at Amherst College on Friday while the ECAC … Read more
Playoffs? You want to talk playoffs? If you can picture the opening lines with the voice from the NFL’s ex-Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora you can kind of imagine that sense of incredulousness that accompanies the rapid end to the regular season once we hit February and the dramatic “win or go home†aspect that … Read more
Quick someone find me a mathematician–the possible playoff permutations are mind boggling as we head into the regular season’s final weekend. What we know about next week’s conference playoffs won’t fill a thimble compared to what is completely up in the air including: who is in, who is out, who can win the regular season … Read more
Things are really heating up as the final two weekends are upon us. Only four regular season games remain on the schedule–that’s eight points up for grabs and with things so tight in the standings, a bit of a stumble on the weekend or a strong couple games can make the difference in making the … Read more
It’s February! If you canvas most coaches, you probably would hear them respond that their “hockey groundhog†hopefully saw its shadow on the ice and that there are six more weeks of the season for their respective teams. With only three more weeks in the regular season, points are critical and teams starting to play … Read more
Just one month remains in the regular season. Yup, just four weeks of games left to decide playoff dreams and seeding for conference glory. Now is the time that all of the coaches are worried about the one thing they hope to control: the outcome of the game their team is playing (and, very likely, … Read more
Staying Loose Last week was all about the NESCAC conference, so this week we focus on the ECAC East. The league is extremely tight. In fact, just three points separate third from 10th place, so each of the five remaining weekends are important. Also, it seems like every match-up down the stretch has potential post-season … Read more
This week we’ll focus on the NESCAC from top to bottom and a couple of stops in the middle of the standings as things are heating up in conference play and one school begins a new era with the opening of their new campus rink. Next week we’ll repeat the favor with an ECAC East … Read more
Happy New Year! Most of the players and coaches return to the ice this weekend with resolutions they intend to keep in the second half of the season. For some — who have already played in a holiday tournament or non-league game — there has been an opportunity to work off the rust that the … Read more
For many teams the first three weeks must seem like a blur. After all, the majority of schools’ first part of the season is complete before semester break even ends. With the late start to the season for these leagues most teams have crammed in two weekends of conference play along with a Thanksgiving tournament … Read more
As condensed as the playing schedule has been this year with Thanksgiving coming in the very last weekend of the month, the regular season league play gave way to some of the traditional and new holiday tournaments featuring some of the regions best teams from all leagues playing against each other for bragging rights and … Read more
Finally! Just a few days before Thanksgiving and the last of the D-III leagues get underway this weekend after three grueling weeks of practice and looking at players wearing the same color shirts. Surviving without sustaining any injuries to players anxious to start the season is only one of the areas of concern for coaches … Read more